Introduction

God is One and Only

Abandoning the Present to Attain the Promised

Oppressive Characteristics

Characteristics Rooted in Love for Religion

One Characteristic for Five Characteristics

A Characteristic for a Characteristic

A Saving Characteristic

The Loftiest Characteristic of the Religion

No Two Things Combined which are Better than the Combination of Two Characteristics

A Characteristic that is the Honor of This World and the Hereafter

The Most Knowledgeable Person Is One who Combines One Characteristic with Another One

There Is One True Prosperity And One True Misery

A Characteristic for Which the People Deserve to be Rewarded or Punished

A Characteristic that Is the Noblest Holy War

The Hardest Thing is One Characteristic that Cannot Be Avoided Unless We Abandon Another Characteristic

A Believer’s Honor Is in One Characteristic and His Glory Is In Another Characteristic

One Characteristic Is the Key to All Evil

A Characteristic Due to Justice

A Characteristic Due to Which We Are Interested in How Others Judge About Us

Seek Nearness to God with One Characteristic

God Has Not Tested the Servants with Anything Harder Than One Characteristic

A Characteristic that Is the Result of Being Kind

A Characteristic that Stabilizes One’s Faith and One that Makes Him Lose His Faith

A Characteristic that Destroys a Believer’s Dignity

A Good Characteristic Which No Other Characteristic Is Better Than, and a Bad Characteristic That No Other Characteristic Is Worse Than

A Characteristic That Guarantees Who Will Not Become Poor

The Form of Chivalry of the Members of the Holy Household

A Characteristic Due to One’s Chivalry

A Characteristic that Is Not Good for a Dignified Man

God Loves One Characteristic and Despises One Characteristic

One Who has This Characteristic Would Not Be Thankful for Blessings

A Characteristic Due to Humbleness

A Characteristic that Is Close to Blasphemy and A Characteristic that Might Change Destiny

A Characteristic that Destroyed Previous Nations

Martyrdom Is Expiation for Every Sin Except for One’s Debt

God the Almighty Has Sent Muhammad (sw) and His Nation a Gift That He Has Not Given to Any Other Nation

A Characteristic that One Should Have If He Wants to Increase Goodness in His House

God Will Look at Whom He Likes. Once He Looks at Him, He Shall Grant Him One of Three Gifts

The Hereafter is the Wedding of the Pious Ones

A Characteristic That is Like its Opposite

The Most Wicked People Are Those Who Are Respected for Possessing One Characteristic

A Characteristic in This World is Abstinence, and a Characteristic That is Gratitude for all Blessings

Nothing Deserves to Be Restrained More Than the Tongue

Whoever Raises his Aspirations Does Wrong

Good Deeds Are Recorded for a Muslim as Long as He Remains Quiet

A Characteristic Having Which Will Result in God Saving You From the Fear of the Hereafter

The Most Intelligent Characteristic

The Most Pious, the Best Worshipping, the Most Ascetic and the Most Hard-Working People

Becoming Sorry Is the Same as Repenting

Whoever Earns More Than His Meals fom This World

A Characteristic That Deserves to Be Willed

A Characteristic That Causes One to Be Thrown Out and a Characteristic That Causes One to Be Joined

Lofty Characteristics and Bad Characteristics for the People of the World

There Is No Honor Except Through One Characteristic. There Is No Nobility Except Through Another Characteristic

When God Loves a Servant He Will Make Him Suffer from a Great Calamity

A Characteristic That Leads to Hemorrhoids

A Hand on Which There Is an Iron Ring Is Not Clean

Do Not Respond to Whoever Talks Before He Greets You

A Characteristic That if Practiced Implies Despise for Muhammad’s Religion

Only One of the Proverbs of the Prophets Has Remained

When God Wishes a Servant Well, He Will Expedite His Punishment in This World, and When He Wishes Someone Bad, He Will Procrastinate His Punishment

Be Patient with the Enemies of the Blessings

The Prophet (sw) and Ali Ibn Abi Talib Were Created from the Same Root

A Characteristic That is Gratitude for All Blessings

Religion Is the Same as Love

When Two Believers Shake Hands They Shall Depart from Each Other Void of Any Sins

A Characteristic That Revives the Hearts

A Characteristic That Revives the Affairs of the Almighty God’s Proofs

God the Almighty Has Not Created Anything More Delightful Than This Characteristic

A Characteristic That Constitutes Nine-Tenths of Religion

Whoever is Pleased with His Destiny or is Displeased with it

A Characteristic for Which Even Red-Haired Camels Are Not Loved

A Characteristic That Increases the Daily Bread

A Characteristic That Leads to Hypocrisy and Poverty

The First Gift Given to a Believer Due to a Characteristic

A Characteristic for Which One Who Has No Good Deeds is Forgiven on the Resurrection Day

A Characteristic That is the Root of All Sins

How Awkward It Is If a Man Enters Heaven Having Lost His Honor

A Characteristic Doing Which Will Cause the Almighty God to Have Mercy Upon You

A Characteristic Doing Which Will Cause Increased Good for One’s House

On Him Whose Health Has Overcome His Illness but He Treats Himself and Dies

A Characteristic Which a Believer Avoids

Nothing Ruins Faith as Much as One Characteristic Does

One Who Lives to See his Successor Is Prosperous

A Believer’s Honor is More Than That of the Ka’ba

It Suffices for a Believer to See God’s Aid in the Form of His Enemies Engaged in the Almighty God’s Disobedience

A Gift Will Eliminate Animosities

Prosperous Be the One Who is Indifferent

A Characteristic That Will Make One Poor in the Hereafter

A Group of People Who Are the Masters of Heaven

God’s Prophet Made His Ablutions One Organ at a Time

The Characteristic That Is the Best Goodness

The Prophet Put off His Special Prayer for One Characteristic

A Characteristic That is the Best Form of Worshipping and a Characteristic That is the Noblest Form of Being Religious

What Is A Lot but Its Doers Are A Few

A Characteristic That Constitutes Half of the Religion

A Characteristic That is the Best Thing Given to a Muslim

The Prophet and Ali Ibn Abi Talib Were Created from One Light

A Servant’s Well-Being Depends Upon the Well-Being of One of His Organs

7-71 حدثني أبي رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا سعد بن عبدلله، عن يعقوب بن يزيد، عن بعض أصحابنا قال:دخلت على أبي الحسن على بن محمد العسكري عليهما السلام يوم الاربعاء وهو يحتجم فقلت له: إن أهل الحرمين يروون عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله أنه قال: من احتجم يوم الاربعاء فأصابه بياض فلا يلومن إلا نفسه، فقال: كذبوا إنما يصيب ذلك من حملته امة من طمث

7-71 (The compiler of the book narrated) that his father - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Sa’ed ibn Abdullah quoted Yaqoob ibn Yazid, on the authority of some friends, “I went to see Ali ibn al-Hassan Al-Askari (MGB) on a Wednesday while he was having phlebotomy performed. I told him, ‘The residents of the two Harams (implying Mecca and Medina) narrate on the authority of God’s Prophet (MGB) that whoever has phlebotomy done on Wednesdays shall suffer from white pigments and has no one but himself to blame.’ The Imam (MGB) replied, ‘No, they lie. This could only happen to those whose mothers got pregnant with them when they were menstruating.’”

7-72 حدثنا محمد بن الحسن بن أحمد بن الوليد رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا محمد ابن الحسن الصفار قال: حدثنا أحمد بن محمد بن عيسى، عن عبدالرحمن بن عمرو بن أسلم قال: رأيت أبا الحسن موسى بن حعفر عليهما السلام احتجم يوم الاربعاء وهو محموم فلم تتركه الحمى فاحتجم يوم الجمعة فتركه الحمى

7-72 Muhammad ibn al-Hassan ibn Ahmad ibn al-Walid - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Muhammad ibn al-Hassan al-Saffar quoted Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa, on the authority of Abdul Rahman ibn Amr ibn Aslam, “I saw Abal-Hassan Musa ibn Ja’far al-Kadhim (MGB) perform phlebotomy on a Wednesday while he had a fever. The fever did not end until Friday when he had the phlebotomy done again.”

7-73 حدثنا محمد بن الحسن رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا محمد بن يحيى العطار قال: حدثني محمد بن أحمد بن يحيى بن عمران الاشعري قال: حدثنا السياري، عن محمد بن أحمد الدقاق البغدادي قال: كتبت إلى أبي الحسن الثاني عليه السلام أسأله عن الخروج يوم الاربعاء لا يدور" فكتب عليه السلام من خرج يوم الاربعاء لا يـدورخلافا على أهل الطيرة وقى من كل آفة، وعوفي من كل داء وعاهة، وقضى الله له حاجته. وكتب إليه مرة اخرى أسأله عن الحجامة يوم الاربعاء لايدور، فكتب عليه السلام من احتجم في يوم الاربعاء لا يدور خلافا على أهل الطيرة عوفي من كل آفة، ووقي من كل عاهة، ولم تخضر محاجمه

7-73 Muhammad ibn al-Hassan - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Attar quoted Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Imran al-Ash’ari, on the authority of Al-Sayyari, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Daq’qaq al-Baghdady, “I wrote a letter to Abal-Hassan - the second - that is Al-Ridha (MGB) and asked him about traveling on the last Wednesday of the month. He (MGB) replied, ‘Whoever travels on the last Wednesday of the month in order to invalidate the claim of those that this act has bad omen will be safe from all calamities.God shall fulfill his needs.’ I wrote another letter to him (MGB) and asked him about blood-letting on the last Wednesday of the month. He (MGB) replied, ‘Whoever has phlebotomy done for him on the last Wednesday of the month in order to invalidate the claim of those that this act has bad omen will be safe from any calamities or ailments. The place of blood-letting shall not turn green.’”

7-74 حدثنا محمد بن أحمد البغدادي الوراق قال: حدثنا على بن محمد بن جعفر ابن أحمد بن عنبسة مولى الرشيد قال: حدثنا دارم بن قبيصة قال: حدثنا علي بن موسى الرضا قال: سمعت أبي يحدث، عن أبيه، عن محمد بن علي، عن أبيه علي بن الحسين، عن أبيه الحسين بن علي، عن أبيه على بن أبي طالب عليهم السلام قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله:آخرأربعاء في الشهر يوم نحس مستمر

7-74 Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Baghdady al-Var’raq narrated that Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ja’far ibn Ahmad ibn Anbasta - the servant of Ar-Rashid quoted Darim ibn Qabaysat narrated that Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (MGB) said that he (MGB) had heard his father (MGB) quote on the authority of his grandfather (MGB), on the authority of Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir (MGB), on the authority of his father Ali ibn al-Hussein (MGB), on the authority of his father Al-Hussein ibn Ali (MGB), on the authority of his father Ali ibn Abi Talib (MGB) that God’s Prophet (MGB) said, “The last Wednesday of every month is always one with bad omen.”

7-75 حدثنا أبي رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا سعد بن عبد الله قال: حدثنا أحمد ابن محمد بن عيسى، عن الحسين بن سعيد، عن فضالة، عن أبان، عن أبي جعفر الاحوال عن بشار بن يسار قال: قلت لابي عبد الله عليه السلام:لاي شيء يصام يوم الاربعاء؟ قال: لان النار خلقت يوم الاربعاء

7-75 (The compiler of the book narrated) that his father - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Sa’ed ibn Abdullah quoted Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa, on the authority of Al-Hussein ibn Sa’id, on the authority of Fuzalat, on the authority of Aban, on the authority of Abi Ja’far al-Ahwal, on the authority of Bashar ibn Yasar, “I asked Aba Abdullah as-Sadiq (MGB), ‘Why do you always fast on Wednesdays?’ The Imam (MGB) replied, ‘Since the Fire (of Hell) was created on a Wednesday.’”

7-76 حدثنا أبي رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا محمد بن يحيى العطار قال: حدثنا أبوسعيد الادمي قال: حدثنا محمد بن الحسين بن أبي الخطاب، عن محمد بن سنان، عن حذيفة بن منصور، قال رأيت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام احتجم يوم الاربعاء بعد العصر

7-76 (The compiler of the book narrated) that his father - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Attar quoted Abu Sa’id al-Adamy, on the authority of Muhammad ibn al-Hussein ibn Abil-Khat’tab, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Sin’an, on the authority of Hazifat ibn Mansoor, “I saw Aba Abdullah as-Sadiq (MGB) had phlebotomy performed on him on a Wednesday afternoon.”

7-77 حدثنا محمد بن الحسن رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا أحمد بن إدريس قال: حدثنا محمد بن أحمد بن عمران الاشعري، عن أبراهيم بن إسحاق، عن القاسم بن يحيى عن جده الحسن بن راشد، عن أبي بصير، عن أبي عبد الله، عن أبيه، عن آبائه، عن أمير المؤمنين عليهم السلام قال: توقوا الحجامة يوم الاربعاء والنورة: فإن يوم الاربعاء يوم نحس مستمر، وفيه خلقت جهنم

7-77 Muhammad ibn al-Hassan - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Ahmad ibn Idris quoted Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Imran al-Ash’ari, on the authority of Ibrahim ibn Ishaq, on the authority of Al-Qasim ibn Yahya, on the authority of his grandfather Al-Hassan ibn Rashid, on the authority of Abi Basir, on the authority of Aba Abdullah as-Sadiq (MGB), on the authority of his father (MGB), on the authority of his forefathers (MGB), on the authority of the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (MGB), “Do not perform phlebotomy or depilatory on Wednesdays since Wednesdays are always with bad omen. Hell was created on a Wednesday.”

7-78 حدثنا محمد بن الحسن رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا أحمد بن إدريس، عن محمد بن أحمد، عن أحمد بن عيسى اليقطيني، عن القاسم بن يحيى، عن جده الحسن بن راشد، عن محمد بن مسلم، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: قال أمير المؤمينن عليه السلام: ينبغي للرجل أن يتوفي النورة يوم الاربعاء فإنه يوم نحس مستمر

7-78 Muhammad ibn al-Hassan - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Ahmad ibn Idris quoted on the authority of Muhammad ibn Ahmad, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Isa al-Yaqtayni, on the authority of Al-Qasim ibn Yahya, on the authority of his grandfather Al-Hassan ibn Rashid, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Muslim, on the authority of Aba Abdullah as-Sadiq (MGB) that the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (MGB) said, “Men should not apply depilatory on Wednesdays since it is a always an unlucky day.”

7-79 حدثنا أبوالحسن محمد بن عمرو بن علي بن عبد الله البصري بايلاق قال حدثنا أبوعبد الله محمد بن عبد الله بن أحمد بن جبلة الواعظ قال: حدثنا أبوا القاسم عبد الله ابن أحمد بن عامر الطائي قال: حدثنا أبي قال: حدثنا علي بن موسى الرضا قال: حدثنا موسى بن جعفر قال: حدثنا جعفر بن محمد قال: حدثنا محمد بن علي قال: حدثنا علي بن الحسين قال: حدثنا الحسين بن علي عليهم السلام قال:قام رجل إلى أميرالمؤمنين عليه السلام في الجامع بالكوفة فقال: يا أمير المؤمنين أخبرني عن يوم الاربعاء والتطير منه وثقله؟ وأي أربعاء هو؟ فقال عليه السلام: آخر أربعاء في الشهر وهو المحاق وفيه قتل قابيل هابيل أخاه، ويوم الاربعاء القي إبراهيم عليه السلام في النار،ويوم الاربعاء وضعوا المنجنيق ويوم الاربعاء غرق الله فرعون، ويوم الاربعاء جعل الله عز وجل أرض قوم لوط عاليها سافلها، ويوم الاربعاء أرسل الله عز وجل فيه الريح على قوم عاد، ويوم الاربعاء أصبحت كالصريم، ويوم الاربعاء سلط الله على نمرود البقة، ويوم الاربعاء طلب فرعون موسى ليقتله، ويوم الاربعاء خر عليهم السقف من فوقهم، ويوم الاربعاء أمر فرعون بذبح الغلمان، ويوم الاربعاء خرب بيت المقدس، ويوم الاربعاء أحرق مسجد سليمان بن داود عليهما السلام واصطخر من كورة فارس، ويوم الاربعاء قتل يحيى بن زكريا، ويوم الاربعاء ظل قوم فرعون أول العذاب، ويوم الاربعاء خسف الله عز وجل بقارون، ويوم الاربعاء ابتلى الله أيوب عليه السلام بذهاب ماله وولده ويوم الاربعاء ادخل يوسف السجن، ويوم الاربعاء قال الله عز وجل: "أَنَّا دَمَّرْنَاهُمْ وَقَوْمَهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ" ويوم الاربعاء أخدتـهم الصيحـة، ويـوم الاربعـاءعقروا النافة، ويوم الاربعاء امطرعليهم حجارة من سجيل، ويوم الاربعاء شج النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وكسرت رباعيته، ويوم الاربعاء أخذت العماليق التابوتقال مصنف هذا الكتاب رضي الله عنه: من اضطر إلى الخروج في سفر يوم الاربعاء أو تبيع به الدم في يوم الاربعاء فجائز له أن يسافر أو يحتجم فيه، ولا يكون ذلك شوما عليه لا سيما إذا فعل ذلك خلافا على أهل الطيرة، ومن استغني عن الخروج فيه أوعن إخراج الدم فالاولى أن يتوقى ولا يسافر فيه ولا يحتجم

7-79 Abul-Hassan Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Ali ibn Abdullah al-Basry in Ilaq narrated that the preacher Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Jabalat quoted Abul Qasim Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Amer al-Ata’ee, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (MGB), on the authority of Musa ibn Ja’far al-Kadhim (MGB), on the authority of Ja’far ibn Muhammad (MGB), on the authority of Muhammad ibn Ali (MGB), on the authority of Ali ibn al-Hussein (MGB), on the authority of Al-Hussein ibn Ali (MGB), “A man stood up in the Jamea Mosque in Kufa and asked the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (MGB), ‘O Commander of the Faithful (MGB)! Please tell me why Wednesday are considered to be unlucky days and how serious is that? Which Wednesday is meant?’The Commander of the Faithful (MGB) said, ‘It was on the last Wednesday of the month on which Abel killed Cane. Abraham (MGB) was cast into fire on a Wednesday. The catapult (with which Abraham was thrown into the fire) was built on a Wednesday. God drowned the Pharaoh on a Wednesday. On Wednesday the Honorable the Exalted God destroyed the land of the people of Lot. On Wednesday the Honorable the Exalted God sent the fiery winds to the people of Ad. On Wednesday their gardens turned black and fell down. On Wednesday the Honorable the Exalted God made a mosquito overcome Nimrood. On Wednesday Pharaoh called in Moses (MGB) in order to kill him. On Wednesday the roof collapsed over their head. On Wednesday Pharaoh ordered the boys of the Israelites to be killed. On Wednesday the Holy Shrine (Bayt ul-Muqadas) in Jerusalem was destroyed. On Wednesday the Mosque of David - the son of Solomon (MGB) was put on fire. On Wednesday Yahya - the son of Zakariya was killed. On Wednesday the first shadow of punishment descended upon the people of Pharaoh. On Wednesday God had Qarun (Korah) sunk into the Earth. On Wednesday God had Ayoob (MGB) suffer from the loss of wealth and children. On Wednesday Joseph (MGB) entered jail. The Honorable the Exalted God said on Wednesday ‘that We destroyed them and their people, all (of them).’ On Wednesday they were caught by the cries. OnWednesday they slaughtered the she-camel. On Wednesday ‘stones of baked clay’ fell over them. On Wednesday the Prophet (MGB) was injured and his tooth broke. On Wednesday the coffin was stolen from the Israelites.”The compiler of the book - may God be pleased with him - said, “It is fine for one who needs to travel to travel on Wednesday or one who has to have phlebotomy done on Wednesday to have it done. There is no bad omen in such an act especially for those who do so to discredit the claim of those who consider this to be unlucky. However, it is better not to go on a journey or have phlebotomy done on Wednesday, if it is not absolutely necessary.”

Al-Khiṣāl

Book 8, Chapter 46